Falsely Accused? Call Blanchard Law!
In August 2025, a federal jury in Detroit delivered a resounding verdict that closed a painful chapter in the life of former police officer Sean MacMaster. After years of battling accusations that nearly destroyed his career and reputation, MacMaster walked out of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan with a decisive victory: a $58.5 million jury verdict against those he said had wrongfully accused him and violated his constitutional rights. The trial unfolded before U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, who presided over a case that ultimately became a dramatic story about power, misconduct, and the long road to vindication.
The lawsuit stemmed from allegations made years earlier that MacMaster had sexually abused a child. The accusations triggered a sweeping investigation and criminal prosecution that turned the former officer’s life upside down. At the center of the civil case were two defendants: David Busacca, a lieutenant with the Michigan State Police, and Brian Kolodziej, a former Michigan assistant attorney general who had helped push the criminal case forward. MacMaster claimed the two men had worked together to pursue charges even though key evidence undermined the allegations.
For MacMaster, the ordeal began long before the civil jury ever heard his story. The allegations surfaced during a contentious custody dispute with his ex-wife, and investigators began examining claims that he had abused his young daughter. Yet from the earliest stages of the investigation, warning signs appeared. Other law enforcement agencies that reviewed the allegations found no evidence supporting the claims, and medical examinations failed to confirm abuse. At one point, the child involved admitted she had lied about the accusations. Still, the case moved forward and MacMaster was ultimately jailed, spending much of his time in solitary confinement.
The criminal prosecution collapsed in 2019 when Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel dismissed the charges. By then, a separate scandal had engulfed prosecutor Brian Kolodziej, who resigned after revelations that he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a complainant in another case. His career ended in disgrace, and he later surrendered his license to practice law.
But for MacMaster, the damage had already been done. He had been jailed, his reputation shattered, and his future as a law-enforcement officer cast into doubt. Determined to clear his name and hold those responsible accountable, he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2021 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of his constitutional rights.
At trial, MacMaster’s legal team portrayed the prosecution as a calculated abuse of power. The plaintiff was represented by attorneys Josh Blanchard and Melissa Freeman, who argued that investigators and prosecutors ignored exculpatory evidence and manipulated reports in order to obtain search warrants and push forward a case that should never have been filed. According to the evidence presented at trial, Busacca altered or omitted information in police reports and warrant applications, while Kolodziej continued to pursue the prosecution despite the mounting evidence that the accusations were unreliable.
The defense side of the courtroom told a different story. Kolodziej ultimately represented himself at trial, while Busacca was defended by counsel representing him in the civil litigation. The defense argued that the investigation had been conducted in good faith and that law enforcement officers had acted on the information available at the time. They also emphasized the difficulty of evaluating allegations involving children and suggested that mistakes, if any occurred, did not rise to the level of constitutional violations.
But after hearing weeks of testimony, the jury concluded that the defendants’ conduct crossed a line.
Jurors found that Busacca and Kolodziej had acted “intentionally, deliberately or with reckless disregard for the truth” in pursuing charges against MacMaster. The verdict reflected the jury’s belief that the investigation and prosecution had been tainted by misconduct and that MacMaster’s constitutional rights had been violated.
The jury awarded more than $33 million in compensatory damages, covering lost wages, legal expenses, emotional distress, and the devastating harm to MacMaster’s reputation. On top of that, the panel imposed $25 million in punitive damages—including $10 million against Busacca and $15 million against Kolodziej—intended to punish the misconduct and deter similar behavior in the future.
Outside the courthouse, his attorney Josh Blanchard described the moment as long-overdue justice. After years of accusations, legal battles, and personal hardship, a jury had finally heard the full story and sided with the man who insisted all along that he had been wronged.
The case also served as a rare reminder that prosecutors and investigators—who typically enjoy broad legal protections—can be held accountable when they abuse their authority. Civil rights lawsuits against prosecutors are notoriously difficult to win because of immunity doctrines designed to protect official decision-making. Yet this case demonstrated that when evidence shows deliberate misconduct, juries are willing to act.
For Sean MacMaster, the verdict marked the end of a grueling legal fight and the restoration of something far more valuable than money: his name. After years of living under the shadow of accusations he insisted were false, the jury’s message was unmistakable. The system that once failed him had finally delivered justice.